The Herd with Colin Cowherd - 3 & Out - Bill Belichick’s Disconnect, QB Redemption Stories, and Joe Flacco to the Bengals

Episode Date: October 8, 2025

On this episode of 3 & Out with John Middlekauff, John dives into Bill Belichick’s lack of connection with his players and their families, and how that might be impacting the UNC culture. He also breaks down how several quarterbacks are finding a second life in the NFL and making the most of their careers. Plus, John reacts to Joe Flacco being traded to the Bengals and what that means for Cincinnati’s offense. Later, he explains why kickers are now playing a bigger role than ever in determining the outcome of games.Finally, John answers your questions in this episode's mailbag segment. Follow John on Twitter, Instagram and YouTube for the latest.  All lines provided by Hard Rock BetSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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What is going on, everybody, John Middilcoff? Three and Out podcast. How are we doing? Hopefully everyone's doing great. Got a big show today. I do want to start. I talked about this. little bit yesterday on the Monday Night Football Reaction podcast at the end, but I want to dive

deeper into it. And listen, I was wrong about something, and I want to address it, and it'll be in revolving around Bill Belichick and the failure and the disaster that is currently North Carolina football. We will definitely talk some quarterbacks, Daniel Jones, Mac Jones, you know, kind of have a Baker Mayfield, Sam, Donald. We've just seen a lot of resurrections around the league these last several years. And I don't necessarily think it's a coincidence.

And then we will also discuss the kickoffs and the field goal kickers have dramatically changed the sport. Like what we're witnessing now on a weekly basis is a much different game because of the new kickoff rule and these guys' ability to kick long field goals than football was like three years ago. And then, of course, the mailbag at John Middlecoff, at John Middlecoff is the Instagram firing those DMs, get your questions answered here on the show. And we will have a long mailbag today as well, but that will be the game plan today. So make sure you subscribe.

If you listen on Collins feed, make sure you subscribe with three and out. Appreciate everyone that subscribes and listens. And if you want to watch, we obviously got a YouTube channel. You can go subscribe and watch all of our content up there as well. We react. You know, this Eagle Giants game Thursday night.

We will be live right after the game reacting. Very, very exciting. Let's dive into some football. I want to start with Belichick because I had mentioned something a while back, and I had been pretty adamant about this, and I was wrong. And I had simply said that college football recruiting, the relationships don't mean anything anymore. It's all about the money.

Whoever will pay you the most, that's all that matters, in getting to know people, going to dinner at their house, knowing their parents interacting with the circle of humans in their life, doesn't matter. And I was wrong. And I was thinking about this a couple weeks ago when I flew out to New York. Remember in 2020 and 2021, it's like business travel is dead. No one will ever do face-to-face interactions to do deals anymore.

Everything's going to be Zoom. Everything's going to be FaceTime. Everything's going to be over our computer. And then over the last couple years, business travels booming and people that do business deals of any substance, I don't know, kind of like to get to know people. I flew out to help facilitate a deal that was probably 98% done. But you know what? It's kind of important for both sides to see the people, to talk with people and just get to

know someone. I was just with one of my good childhood friends who had his 40th birthday. at probably the busiest place in all of Napa. And a bunch of people showed up, people I didn't know, and one of our college buddies showed up. And he is currently in business with Jordan Palmer. That is Carson's younger brother, who obviously plays a big role still, you know,

coaches in the offseason guys like Sam Darnold and Josh Allen. And their business right now is thriving. He's doing really well. And their relationship stems from high school. They've known each other for over 25 years. And relationships matter. And I had a front row seat when I worked in college football, the coach Hill, Pat Hill, who had worked for Belichick,

who got hired at Fresno State coming from the Cleveland Browns and working for Bill Belichick and being the assistant offensive line coach where Kirk Ferrens was the O line coach and running scout team against Nick Sabin every day in practice for years. And I witnessed that man. do in-home visits, do school visits for years. And know his entire team, their family, their high school coaches, their brothers and sisters. You know why?

That kind of matters. You can say that I hate Ohio State. It's kind of true. I root against him. I do respect Ryan Day. And I have always said this. He takes recruiting very seriously. His mentor, Chip Kelly, did not.

He will openly say, like, I hate recruiting. Well, then you can't really function in college football. It's not the way it works. Like, you just hate recruiting? Do you hate the draft? I mean, this is like a basic element of the sport, right? This is how you acquire your players. Do you want to go eat dinner at 17-year-old's homes for months on end?

Probably not. Hell, Dion Sanders doesn't even do that. You know, Dion Sanders has never had a home visit, right? But I would say this about Dion Sanders. and how he would differ from Belichick is Deans got a pretty big personality. And I've seen him deal with a lot of different people. I mean, granted, just on social media, with his own team,

like his relationship from Travis Hunter to his sons to like the little Mexican kicker, like he's pretty good dealing with people. You would say Dion's personality is a positive attribute. Belichick's personality is a negative. No one's ever argued that his football knowledge isn't elite. Ask all the young offensive coaches right now in the NFL. McVey, Kyle Shanahan, Kevin O'Connell, who played for him, that they speak about him like he's the football Jesus.

Hell, Andy Reid, who is somewhat his peer in terms of an age group, if you got him unfiltered talking about Bill Belichick, they have the utmost respect for his ability to understand the entire landscape of the game. Offense, defense, special teams, schemes, team building, it all. But no one has ever confused Bill Belichick for caring about others. And listen, I have no problem with that. Right? That is his, all of our personalities are different.

And he gives no shits about anyone. Well, in the pros, when you screw up, right, if the Arizona Cardinals, the dude that dropped the ball at the goal line, if they wanted to, they're not going to because they're running back situations kind of in shambles with James Connor going down. They could cut him Monday morning and say, listen, you're gone, right?

Just because you drop the ball in the end zone, it happens all the time. You see guys, especially as the season goes, and teams lose in the NFL, you will see so-and-so got cut, so-and-so got released. And sometimes it's just personality don't want to deal with you anymore. It's a cut-throw business. Why? Because it's pro football. And college football is kind of morphed into that.

The NIL. All I hear about is the NIL. Well, it's not the NIL because I'm not paying for your name, image, and likeness. I'm just paying you to play for my team, which I got no issue. it's why I'm on the fence of like, I don't see, I read an article today that Arch Manning makes $6.8 million. I was like, geez, that's a lot. Hell, I heard a story. I was listening to Brian Winhorst say the kid at BYU, the basketball player, make $7 million.

Now, in basketball, it's a little different. These guys are won and duns. But in college, Archmanning's been making millions now for a couple years. Well, the moment you play and you don't get it done, you're not going to continue to be my starter. But during the season, you don't see guys in college football. just get cut. And part of this big story with college football, or I mean with Belichick, has been he has no relationship with any of his player's family, with anything they got going outside of football. Same thing with his son, Steve, who most guys on the team, even on his side

of the ball, don't even have his number. Well, in football, right, when these guys worked for the Patriots, it was like whether Jason McCordy or Devin McCordy or Dante Hightower and Belichick didn't need to know his parents, didn't need to know his girlfriend, didn't really care. You either get the job done or we will get rid of you. Remember when Jamie Collins started playing like shit and they're like, traded him. It was cutthroat and no one was more cutthroat than the Patriots. Well, that's not really how it works in college, even in this transactional time. Do you think that Kirby Smart, his starting lineup and guys, especially that he recruit out of high school or even the transfer portal guys, that he knows a decent amount about that player? I'm not talking

about strengths and weaknesses, their ability on the field, but like their parents or whoever is like the guiding mentor in their life. You know why? Because when that 19 year old goes into the tank, you kind of got to play, you know, coach psychologist on the fly. You're not dealing with a 40-year-old Tom Brady who has multiple kids from multiple different women, who's been married for 10 years, who is worth hundreds of millions of dollars, who is 40 freaking years old. or Rob Grunkowski, who's 32 years old, or Julian Edelman, who's 34 years old, you were dealing with a 19 or 20 year old

whose insecurities go up and down, you know, as fast as a stock market. Right? We're human beings. We're young human beings. We haven't experienced that much in life. And if you're a college football player, most of your life definitely in high school is probably pretty good

because you were the star athlete and the guy getting all the chicks when you were 15, 16, 17 years old. Then you get to college, you start losing, He started getting yelled at. It's not great. Well, Belichick doesn't give a shit about any of that. And we knew that.

He didn't care. And I always thought like, well, does that even matter anymore? Yeah, it still kind of matters. Because remember last year when Ohio State won the championship? Or the year before when Jim Harbaugh's team won the championship? And I remember there was a viral video of J.J. McCarthy's Pro Day. And JJ's family were there, and he just started talking to JJ's mom. And maybe it was Blake Corum's like dad or something.

Like, he just, he knew all these people intimately. Because that's college football. And it still is even in this NIL era. I bet you Ryan Day, because he recruited, like, you know, the quarterback and the safety that transferred from Alabama from high school, knows their families. That doesn't mean you need to text them about playing time on a Tuesday. But it shows that, like, I know more about you. Because that's part of this deal. Because most guys on your team, even at Alabama, Ohio State and Oregon, are not going to be NFL stars.

And programs like North Carolina, they definitely are not. So if I don't get invested in as a player, the thing I respect most about Pat Hill wasn't that he was one of the trailblazers for smaller schools. I think he was the first non-power-five million-dollar coach. He pushed so many small school guys that did not have offers into the NFL. It was how much he cared about his players.

And the guys that weren't going to go to the NFL, but like their girlfriends, their wives. He gets invited to their wedding. That's usually how it works. Hell, look at Andy Reid. Do you know who's going to be there at the Travis Kelsey, Taylor Swift wedding? Assuming he can make it, it's not like during the draft. Andy freaking Reid.

Do you think Belichick's getting invited to any of these weddings? Let alone, like, they're just using this as a transaction machine. Which I think a couple years ago we thought, well, this college football. Well, kind of. It still is a relationship-based business. just like the real world is. It's like, well, just Zoom this guy. Well, how much you asking for?

You need an investment in your startup? You want that guy to give you $500,000? You think just Zoom's going to get it done? Probably not. You might need to hop on a bird, fly, have dinner with them, hell, maybe spend a couple days with them. That's the way the real world works. In college football, I bet if we went to Kirby Smart,

if we went to Ryan Day, if we went to Dan Lannning, like do these guys still want to do home visits? Do these guys, they're going to be days? Hell, no, they don't. but they know what's important and they know what matters. Like, do you think Dan Lannning knows Dante Morse family, knows his parents' names? I would bet a million dollars right now he does. Do you think Belichick has any fucking clue about any of this stuff?

No. And this is where I thought Belichick would probably work because he's such a good coach. And now looking at it, like, I think the personality element kind of matters. Because recruiting, even if money is involved, well, we know Belichick's not really into, offering a lot of money. That's never really been his M-O. To think that he's just going to outbid everybody on these players all the time,

that's probably not going to be his thing. Well, it's like, what about his relationships? What about his personality? That is definitely not his thing. So if the only thing you're hanging your hat on is like, you know, in 2015, we were down 28 to 3. Well, cool, coach. I was nine years old.

I don't really remember that game. I was like, well, do you remember when we have the undefeated team and we lost to the Giants in the Super Bowl in 2007 or January 2008. Coach, I was two years old then. Like the age gap of some of his success, you know, part of the reason the Patriots beating the bills the other night was such a big deal. It's like they had been really shitty for a long time now. Like it's not just a year.

Now, relative to the last 25 years, obviously they had a good run. But for a kid that's 18 years old, 10 years ago, the kid was 8. So in 2025, when Belichick and Brady were in their second iteration, of the dynasty, kid doesn't remember anything. Like, I think back to my childhood. Some of my first memories are more like 10-ish. And maybe that's because I'm 40 years old now.

41, actually, birthday yesterday. No big deal. Not a big birthday guy, though. But I just, I think this thing's only going to get uglier. Because I see it myself. I bet many of you listening can relate, especially if you're over 30 or 35 or 40. Our personalities don't change that much.

Right. The way we're wired, the way we like to live our life. I'm not saying we don't, especially if you are an ambitious person, not willing to adapt and willing to professionally change. But the way you're wired, like how you enjoy the party I was just at over the weekend. One of my good buddies, his wife, she is, she likes to socialize. And it gives her energy. You know, I do it for two days and I'm like, I am still tired four days later. I'm like, I'm exhausted. She'll be at an event tonight or to be. tomorrow and then all weekend. Like it just, it energizes her. And your personality is something that kind of defines you and you have to figure out as you age how to professionally dial it in so you can have the most success. But you don't just become some crazy extroverted human if you're an introvert. Just like if you're an extroverted person, it's really hard to lay low all the time. And Belichick does not want to deal with a lot of people.

Hell, he was, you know, legendary for being a dick to the guy that was paying him 20 fucking million dollars a year. He wasn't, it was well known in NFL circles, he wasn't even nice to the crafts. One individual that cut the checks for everything. And I've always kind of defended him. I do understand

if you're Bill. Like listen, should it be nice to Robert? Yes, but the kid, like I'm sorry, I can't take Jonathan seriously if I'm Bill. But like, word gets around. It's like, yeah, you don't want to deal with that guy. And now he goes to a university where there are way more hands in the cookie jar. You got

Boosters, you got Board of Regents, you got presidents, you got athletic directors. You got kids' parents that kind of matter, right? I mean, kids' parents, even in 1819, they still rely on these people. They talk to them all the time. And high school coaches, like, think how many high school coaches for the last 20 plus years. Kirby Smart isn't just on a first name basis with, but like legitimately knows a lot about their life, has hung out with them, has spent time with them, has brought them to his facility over the years for clinics, for beers, had played golf with them, like intimate relationships. That shit matters.

Yet you look at Belichick's relationships as like, who are his relationships? Hates everyone with the Patriots now. The Belichick boys follow him. Look at the guys with Andy Reed. Matt Nagy gets fired by the Bears goes right back. Steve Spagnola had worked for him in the Philly comes right back. These guys swear by the guy, even the guys that go on in their own. I'll never forget being at the Combine one year

and seeing John and Jim Harbaugh. And this was, I think John was probably a year away from winning the Super Bowl, and Jim was like in his first year at this 49ers. And they were walking together. They looked inside our suite, and they said, Andy! And they lit up like Christmas, I remember, I think it was pretty cool. And they came in and they just kind of shot the shit for like 30 minutes

while workouts were going on. and it's like, I, you know, I, I just think this thing's going to be even a bigger disaster. And you'd be like, well, John, everyone's kicking him while he's down. It has nothing to do with this team. This team's going to suck. We saw it against TCU. But I do think your personality, you can get by, like,

Kyle Shanahan would have no chance to recruit. Zero. Wouldn't want to do it, couldn't do it, couldn't even fake it. And so he does. I'm just a pro coach, right? He would not do well. But you watch Steve Sarkisian, you watch Ryan Day, you watch Dan Lannning.

Their personalities are. are a little bit different. It's why we all agree. Like, you know, I think Sean McVeigh could do both. I think Mike Tomlin could do both. Not saying they want to, not even saying that they have, they would, could, like, it wouldn't even interest them. But if they had to do it, they could. Like, it's easy to see Pete Carroll's personnel. It's like, yeah, I get it. I could see him walking right down the street, you know, by the bloods in the Crips in Compton and sitting in a dude's house and landing the recruit with a big smile. I mean, these stories were legendary. I heard the same stories about Pat Hill when they tried to recruit Malik Jackson and his brother who ended up

going to USC and then Tennessee and then won a Super Bowl with Denver. He's just like, hey, Coach Hill, stand at the sidewalk, do not walk down the street in South Central LA. He got out of the car and he fucking just beeline. Didn't give a shit. Liked it. Enjoyed it because that was his personality. That's always been a Pete Carroll thing. Clearly, I see it in Dan Lanning. You know, I think Ryan Day Sark, I think Lane's become that. Your personality really matters. Where in college it just doesn't. Where in the pros, what matters? being the ability to influence the quarterback. And I was thinking about, you know, I love Baker Mayfield.

I'm a big Oklahoma guy. And early on, my guy Drew Hill when he got hired of Bob Stoops, you know, I think Baker was like a year later. And I watched every game Baker played in college. And he's one of my favorite players that I've seen over like 20 plus years, you know, watching college football as an adult. Reggie Bush, Johnny Mansell, Baker Mayfield. Now, the difference is like, I thought Baker Mayfield was like an athlete.

Drew Brees. When you watched him in college, he dominated. Now looking back, his teams were stacked, but he was, I mean, he's got to be one of the great Oklahoma players of all time, and they have one of the more storied histories in all of college football. And obviously, you know, John Dorsey bought in to not just the player, but the personality. And it took a while for it to come to fruition. He had to fail. He had to, you know, grow up a little bit. But like, watching Baker Mayfield now, like, he was the number one overall pick for a reason. The guy He's a fucking player. Right now, you could argue Sam Darnold had more physical attributes.

He was the number three overall pick. So watching these guys get in good situations, you know, I think Baker, I just looked. Last night it was 12 to 1. Today he's 8 to 1 to win the MVP. Sam Darnold, to me, is like, he's not going to win the MVP this year, but he's a high-end pro-bowl level guy. It's like, yeah, he's 6'4. I met him this year at the Super Bowl.

He's way bigger than you think. his arms big and he can move. Like, yeah, it kind of works. Now, you've got to be able to, in part of playing quarterback, is more, you know, the attributes, all that stuff matter, but how do you read defenses, how do you process, how do you handle the pocket? Like, clearly those two guys have it.

But looking back when they were drafted, a lot of people thought they had it. You know, people love Baker Mayfield coming out of college. People love Sam Donald coming out of college. A couple guys that, to me, didn't have their physical attributes, Daniel Jones and Mack Jones. I think most people that I know would have thought crazy overdrafts for both.

Daniel Jones at 6 and Mack Jones of 15. But like Daniel Jones was a legitimate, you know, top 30, 40 quarterback prospect. To me, Mac was a little bit more quarterback inflation historically, but he was really good in college. I'd have no problem taking him in the third round. Right, but you take a guy in the third round, he could become your starter.

Russell Wilson, Kirk Cousins, Dak Prescott, like that level of guy. and I'm watching them now we all need help most human beings are not Peyton Manning or LeBron James where if you coached them if they went to the best organization if they went to the worst organization

it would not matter they are going to succeed most people are not that most people are not Steve Jobs right most people need someone in their life to help them and be a catalyst moving forward especially young right and football is no different than any of us

in life. I owe a ton of my professional success because Colin Coward a long time ago believed in me. And now I'm in a position with this company and these people behind the scenes and so much goes into it that is out of my control in a positive way. But I can't do this on my own. Just like many of you listening, whether you own your own company, whether you're successful and working for a company, like you're dependent on other people. Hell, we know personally, I got married year ago, got a child on the way. My life is dramatically better with someone in it because we can accomplish more the two of us than I could as a single human being. Football is no different. And most guys, Tom Brady benefited a lot from going to a place that turned out to have one of the

great defenses over the internet era and a coach that, listen, I just kind of shit on him because he has no personality, is an excellent pro coach. I mean, going to go down as one of the great coaches, any sport ever. But like Mac Jones and Daniel Jones, they need people that believe in them, and they need help around them, and they're very dependent on the play caller. Some guys, like Lamar Jackson,

early in his career, very dependent on the offense. Right now, Lamar Jackson can play for anybody. You put Lamar Jackson on the Bengals, and they start fucking rattling off wins with his eyes close, assuming his hamstring was healthy, right? Mac Jones and Daniel Jones are not that. Now, Daniel Jones has more physical skills.

He's bigger, he's faster and he's got a bigger arm. But Mac Jones is pretty good. Once upon a time Nick Saban said, I want you here. And when Tua went down, Mac Jones came in and had a lot of success and obviously the next year won his championship.

And I was looking today, they are combined 7 in 1 in 2025. The 49ers have won three games with Mac Jones. Daniel Jones is 4 in 1 right now as the starter. And he is going to be a lifeline and get extensions for the head coach and the general manager. They were going to get fired a couple months ago, and now they're going to get extensions.

Assuming he stays healthy, if he stays healthy, they're winning, I don't know, 11, 12, 13 games. Like, they're good. And he's good. And he needed Shane Steichen. Just like Mack Jones needed Kyle Shanahan, because those guys make life easier. They can get you in position. I saw this video that went viral of Ben Jones, the former center for the Titans. and he was talking about in 2017, when Terry Robisky, long time, you know, wide receiver coach, been a coordinator a couple times, said like, Terry wouldn't even call plays. He would just like give you the game plan and then you would just like, sometimes in like the second half or in a two minute situation, he would just be like, go cook. But we got like a second year quarterback here. And Ben Jones and Marriota would just kind of on the fly, be like calling plays in the huddle together.

And back when Kevin O'Connell, whatever, six months ago, said more teams fail quarterbacks than quarterbacks fail team. And you see stuff like that. You're like, Jesus, 100%. Imagine getting these guys that are young and a coach not even helping them out. And I've always said this. You know, the NFL, especially now, it's Wall Street on grass. Position coaches make 900 grand. Whenever you get a lot of money involved, you get a lot of scam artists.

The amount of people in scouting, in coaching that are doing it because it's a high profile, high paying job has never, you know, been more prevalent than it was like, didn't pay anything in the 80s. It wasn't as glamorous of a job. So if you were coaching, like when Belichick and Coach Reed and Pete Carroll, like when they got into the sport, it was for the love of football, which is honestly refreshing, I think, about some of the younger guys, especially the offensive coaches, like it feels like they're junkies. Obviously, they're all highly. paid, you know, Ben Johnson, Kevin O'Connell, LaFle, McVeigh, Kyle. But it's like these guys, these cats would have coached in the 80s and 70s when it wasn't

very, you know, making much money. And then there are some guys like, this guy's just doing it because it's football, make high six figures or seven figures, but they're a scam artist, you know. This guy has no business. And I hear stories in the scouting community, you know, guys trying to work their way up just because they want to be doing press conferences. They want to be famous. They want to make a lot of money. that they kind of skip steps and, you know, don't actually, they're not in it for the right reasons. And I think the one thing you see with Mac Jones and Daniel Jones is sometimes when you get thrown a lifeline and you get into a place where someone believes in you, and I've said this for a long time,

when you're a younger person, and Daniel Jones, I think is like, they're both, you know, late 20s, but that's still pretty young for dudes. You know, women are way more mature than us. Hell, my wife is seven years younger than me. She is dramatically more emotionally buttoned up than myself. She is way more mature at the same age than I was in my early 30s. It's not even close. And having people in your life that are successful to,

like, Shane Steichen is an excellent offensive coordinator. Kyle Shanahan, his resume speaks for itself. So when these guys go, I want you around. Look at Sam Donald's when his career clear, change for the better. You can say Baker Mayfield, too. Who are the two guys that wanted Sam and wanted Baker? Sean McVeigh claimed him and Kyle Shanahan signed Sam Darnold. And their careers ever since have been like rocket ships right up to the moon. Well, you put those two in Carolina with Matt Rule, who's completely over his head as a NFL coach, with a GM that has no clue

what he's doing, and they look like scrubs. And then you get them out and you go, God, Baker Mayfield might win the MVP. And Sam Darnold is one of the great stories. Like, I ever remember, right? But, you know, maybe it's the Panthers and the Jets, who are a fucking joke. And I say this, like, I'm a huge John Spite that guy. I hope he wins a Super Bowl in his career, as

a GM. I have nothing but admiration for Pete Carroll. But you're seeing those two guys, go to a franchise, like, that franchise loses a lot. You know, Google the last 25 years with the Raiders. It's not something that's easy for people to overcome.

Right? You go to the Jets. What we witnessed Aaron Glenn help Dan Campbell do these last couple years in Detroit was one of the great accomplishments we've ever seen in football. The Detroit Lions are now a powerhouse. Imagine telling someone that 10 years ago. Like listen, you're not going to believe me, but the Detroit Lions are a powerhouse. Hell, if I would have told people in the 90s or the 80s or the early 2000s, do you know that the Golden State Warriors are going to be probably the Lakers equal in popularity and just dominance, you'd be like, no chance. That shows you the power of Steph Curry.

Right? He's a transcendent human being. And that's even if like Pete Carroll's proven to be transcended, changed USC, they went through the greatest stretch in modern program history. The Seattle Seahawks became a juggernaut? No chance. That happened. And he goes to Raiders.

It's like, shit, is he going to quit? Is this going to drive him back to retirement? So I just think it's really, really cool. when guys, you know, that probably have a little less talent than some, just get in the right spot and see them flourish. And I also think you see, you know, when the story of Shador miming the other day, you know what we never saw is any dude on Cleveland kind of come out,

even like an anonymous player going, you know, Shadur's getting fucked. He should 100% be the starter. Never heard that. I'll never forget when I was around the 49ers a lot. You know what you didn't hear much positive talk about Trey Lance? Why? Because all the players knew he wasn't that good. Nothing against him personally, but they knew he couldn't really play. And players know, and coaches know, and then eventually you just got to do it. And, you know, what Mack Jones has done so far of the season, he saved the season.

If they would have had a bad backup, if they would have had a guy that is not probably a starter in the NFL, the 49ers would be like one and four. We'd be talking about Kyle Shannon having back-to-back shitty stuff. seasons and like, is he legitimately on the hot seat? Is this franchise a current disaster now? Instead, they get Mack Jones, who's throwing six touchdowns so far this season. We talked about the Colts. Their owner has a headset on the sideline. It's like she wants to know, like, if I'm going to fire these guys, I better feel really confident about it. Now she's sitting there on the sideline and just watching touchdowns and 40 point blowouts. She's like,

this fucking incredible. Joe Flacco, he was traded today to the Bengals. My overall take is he's got no chance. He is probably the least mobile of any guy that can be a starter in the NFL, like right up there with Kirk Cousins. Can't move at all, right? But he's not a very good player anymore, and he's going to a team with a horrendous offensive line. Horrendous offensive line. Now, I would have been like, well, why can't you trade for like a younger, more mobile player? And who knows, maybe you just get a little lightning in the bottle. Kind of like last year when the Packers traded for Malik Willis. We're like, idiots, what are they doing? saw him at Leak Willis play.

You're like, ah, not terrible. Like, why? I would much rather do something like that than trade for Joe Flacko, a guy in your division, who, again, incredible career, seems like a fucking awesome dude and teammate, can't move. And your offensive line is like me and you and three other guys blocking. He's going to get killed. Jake Browning and Joe Burrow are dramatically better athletes. And they're getting Maliwopped on a weekly basis.

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Hey, it's us, the Jonas Brothers, and guess what? We have some big news. What's the news? Huge news. We created our own podcast called, Hey Jonas. We invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to a...

We're the first people to do podcasts. Pretty, yeah, pretty wide range of podcasts. We're starting a trend. But this one's extra special. So how do we actually come up with a name, Hey Jonas, guys? I honestly don't remember. I think it was on a call about what we should call it.

We were thinking I'm originally calling it one of the early names of our band before Jonas Brothers. This is how you guys remember it going down? Yes. I have a very different memory of this. We were talking about a thing, a bit for the podcast,

where people could call in and say, Hey, Jonas. And then I wrote down on my little notepad, Hey Jonas, and offered it up as a potential title for the podcast. But thanks for remembering that, guys. Listen to Hey Jonas on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,

or wherever you get your podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. Another podcast from some SNL, late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer, Streeter Seidel,

help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the IHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Keer Games.

And in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it. And we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch.

Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth? Are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person.

Join me, Kear Gaines, is we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast. Learn the Hardway. Open your free Our Heart Radio app. Search Learn the Hard Way and listen now.

Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened.

That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise. Breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves,

their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down,

give you context, and ask the questions everybody wants answered. Sports Slice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to Sports Slice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slices Life 12 in the

TikTok podcast network on TikTok. And last but not least, there was a story that I saw that Floreo put out that the NFL had six double-digit comebacks in one week, this was last week, for the first time since 2003.

And we talked about this last week with the kicking balls that the kickers are now allowed to have all week long instead of just an hour before the game. So they can doctor the balls, you know, like the Brady deflategate thing, was you only got to deal with the balls, whatever the allotted time was pregame, right?

Well, same thing with the kickers. You had an hour. Well, now you have all week long. And you pick and choose what balls you want to bring to the game. And it's not really even arguable if you've been watching football for 10, 20, 30, 40 years. 60's the new 50. And honestly, like 65's the old 50. I mean, these guys are draining kicks from so deep, it's stupid.

I mean, when you watch a 60-yard field goal go in, how many times you go, God, that would have been good for like four or five more yards. It's happening all the time. It wasn't that long ago. When I was a kid, a 50-yard field goal was a bomb. Teams would all the time punt instead of kicking a 50-yard field goal.

So that has dramatically changed the math because we saw it in the NBA. The three-point shot had been around for decades, but more and more people were shooting them at a high clip and more and more teams emphasized it and put guys that never shot three-pointers that usually played down by the basket outside the three-point line.

So now you see these crazy comebacks in basketball. I used to gamble on basketball all the time when I was in radio because I used to hammer the over for the KD, Russ Westbrook, OKC. They would score so many points. Their individual team overs, the game overs,

and I just remember like, this is cake. And them covering the speed. against random teams. They were really good for a couple of years period time, right before he came to the Warriors. But same thing with the Warriors. They would destroy people. But now you can have a 20-point game,

and all of a sudden you're not really paying attention. Team hits like four-threes. All of a sudden, it's 7-8 points. Well, on football, and we noticed this on Monday night football, you are much more, one, you're not that far away from field goal range, just in general if you have 60-plus yard in range. But this new kickoff rule has dramatically changed the sport. We saw Harrison Butker couldn't just kick it out of the end zone.

Why? Because he didn't want them to start at 35. So we tried to have his cake and eat it too. He tried to directionally pin them, and clearly they had probably worked on it so they could tackle the guy within side the 25. But we see this happen all weekend long when you try to do the pins, right, almost like a punt. Well, the punt, if it goes out of bounds at the two-yard line, who cares? Well, in the NFL, if it goes out of bounds on the kickoff, you're starting at the 40-yard line. So the chiefs go up, four points, and then when they kick off, the jacks start at the 40 fucking yard line.

And then they sack them essentially twice. Well, imagine if they had just back in the day kicked the ball through the end zone. They would have started at the 20 yard line. So even if he hits the 40-yard bomb on 3rd and 7 at the 23, they're still at the 38 or 40-yard. They still got a while to go. Instead, he hits that starting at the 43-yard line. They're basically in the red zone. I do think that teams, and listen, I'm on board with the kicking changes.

It is undeniably made the game more entertaining. But a little like the three-point shot, like it's kind of fake, you know, these comebacks, the ability, if you got 30 seconds left and you're down to touchdown, well, they kick it out of bounds. You know, boom, I'm at the 40. I'm one play away from being at the other 40, and I'm well within Hail Mary distance. Before, if you had 30 seconds left, you're probably going to start lateraling it three plays in

because you're going to have to go 80 yards. You're going to have no shot. And if you're down a touch or less than a field goal, you have a very good chance to either tie the game or win the game. So I do think Roger Goodell would say this is unequivocally working. Like, there's no denying it. From an entertainment standpoint, then I think there would be people like old school,

people, they probably don't like it. Because they feel like we're kind of manipulating all this. You know, before, I would say the Chiefs win that game. Because Trent Lawrence, in two minutes, isn't going 80 yards. But if you only has to go 60, if you had a 43-yard play, well, shit, you've just made up 75, 80% of the yards, you've got to go. And I don't necessarily have a take. I'm entertained by it.

But I do think it's just a dramatically different sport. with this new kickoff rule and with the kickers being able to doctor the balls, then we have ever witnessed. And the comebacks, the more points, a little more difficult to gamble on. You know, before, if you had a three-point lead with under 45 seconds and they got no timeout, it's like there's no chance they're getting into field goal range. Now it's like even if they start at 35, they're two plays away. They're kickers in range.

Kickers in range with ease. Hell, they're thinking like touchdown, let alone field goal. Hey, it's us, the Jonas Brothers. And guess what? We have some big news. What's the news, name? Huge news. We created our own podcast called, Hey Jonas.

We invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to it. We're the first people to do podcasts. Pretty, yeah, pretty wide range of podcasts. We're starting a trend. But this one's extra special. So how do we actually come up with a name, Hey Jonas, guys?

I honestly don't remember. I think it was on a call about what we should call it. And we were thinking I'm originally calling it. One of the early names of our band before Jonas Brothers was... This is how you guys remember it going down? Yes. I have a very different memory of this. We were talking about a thing, a bit for the podcast,

where people could call in and say, hey, Jonas. And then I wrote down on my little notepad, Hey Jonas, and offered it up as a potential title for the podcast. But thanks for remembering that, guys. Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it.

Another podcast from some SNL late-night comedy guy, not quite on Humor Me with Robert Smygle and Friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, S&L's Mikey Day and head writer, Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes.

Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get. your podcasts. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athletes themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to

hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context, and ask the questions everybody wants answered. SportsSlice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to SportsSlice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Sliced Life 12 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games.

And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking. Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase

that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing and we're still chasing it and we don't know when we've done enough because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth, or are you a good person because you're afraid?

Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, is we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, learn the hard way. Open your free iHeartRadio app.

Search Learn the hard way and listen now. Okay, it's that time of the day. It's actually just mailback time. Middlecoff mailback at John Middlecoff, at John Middlecoff is the Instagram fire in those DMs and get your questions answered here on the show. Do you believe that Joe Flacco can keep us in the mix until Joey B comes back? I do not. I think you guys are completely screwed.

I would rather have, for your team, I would rather have Jake Browning than Joe Flacko. Joe Flacco cannot move. and your offensive line can't block. So you have a guy who is a statue back there who is not going to have much time. You know, one thing with Burrow and Browning, you know, there has to be some mobility, right? I'm not looking Kyler Murray-Lamar Jackson here,

but you have to be able to keep plays alive with your legs, and he cannot. I think the Flacco Magic of a couple years ago in Cleveland was pretty cool, but that was a one-time deal. This is over. Do the Steelers have a defensive coordinator problem? I don't think Austin is horrible, but he has no ability to make adjustments. The last four or five years, we've had great talent and some horrible defensive results.

Games like the Jet scoring 32 this year, or like in the past few seasons, that made Zach Wilson and Will Levis look great. When can we play base defense and everything goes to plan? It looks good. But I don't get why the run defense specifically. isn't working. I never see real adjustments being made. Letting Brian Flores walk and not promoting him to D.C. When we had him was a huge, huge mistake. I wanted to bring up your guy's schedule.

I think sometimes in like the Flores situation, it's easy to say that. I mean, it wasn't that long ago. Terrell Austin was viewed as like a hot coaching candidate. Listen, the division I think is over. If the Ravens lose this week and they're 1 in 5, they would have 11 games left. To get to 10 wins, they would have to go 9 and 2. To get to 9 wins, they'd have to go 8 and 3. They're not doing that.

The Browns and the Bengals stink. You guys are kind of in the driver's seat. So you get the Browns this week should win. Then you get the Bengals should win. Then you get the Packers Colts. tougher games. Then you go to the Chargers. Bangles again, at the Bears, Bills, the Ravens, they're in shambles,

the dolphins, the Browns again. I mean, I think the Steelers are winning this division at like 10 and 7. You'll be fine. Now, to me, your defense comes down to two things. Pass rush, number one, if T.J. is going to dominate, and he's looked excellent these last couple weeks, and other guys around him play at a high level, your defense going to be solid. Because if you give a good pass rush

to a competent defensive coordinator, teams are going to be good. And then these corners, like, Jalen Ramsey has a good season, you're going to be okay. But I do think it's easy to play the Brian Flores game. They weren't going to fire Toreal Austin for Brian Flores at the time.

Not a take, no question, just a thought. I said to my coworker today that James Franklin is the college Mike Tomlin. Great during the regular season. but anytime they play a real team or get to the playoffs, the rails fall off. Mike Tomlin's won a lot of big games in the regular season and in the playoffs. He doesn't want a playoff game in a while, but historically he's won some playoff games.

He won a Super Bowl. Comparing James Franklin to Mike Tomlin is not fair to Mike Tomlin. That's kind of funny because I think this current version feels a little James Franklin-y, but Mike Tomlin's resume speaks for itself. James Franklin's never won a big game. Never. Worst franchise decision. Vikings letting Darnold go

or the 49ers giving Purdy over $50 million a year. It's got to be Donald because you could have just had Darnold with Addison, with Justin Jefferson, with Hawkinson for years to come. And your backup could have been

J.J. McCarthy. And maybe is a three-year deal and you treat J.J. McCarthy like Aaron Rogers. He sits for three years. To me, Purdy, like earn the contract. He was a really good player. Now he's injured, and the 49ers somehow find backup quarterbacks that can play always.

But they weren't going to not pay him. They just weren't. I mean, they'd talk about paid purdy years ago. Love the pod. Thank you for the entertainment. Where does Daniel Hunter, Dinell Hunter, I don't know why I call him Daniel. Daniel. DeNeil Hunter rank in the top defensive players in the league. Ever since he joined the Texans, they've had a top five defense, it seems.

No one on the networks really mentions his name And they bring up the best of the best The man is only 30 with 100 sacks I remember when I was doing radio I got to know a lot of guys on the Raider staff Because I was going to all the Raider games And I got to know John D. Philippo pretty well And he was the quarterback coach

For the Raiders with Dennis Allen And then he went on to the Eagles And then he became the O.C for the Vikings For a couple years with Kirk Cousins And I remember texting him in his first training camp He's like this is one of the biggest freaks I've ever seen He said who? He said Hunter. He is a dominant, dominant player.

That was the first time I kind of came on my radar. That would have been probably 2018 range, I would guess. Yeah, I mean, he's just a freak show. I mean, they gave him two years, $50 million. Guaranteed it basically every penny for a reason. He's a monster. Really good player. I think part of it is, you know, we don't spend much time talking about the Houston, Texans.

We just don't. Unless they're really, really good. But yeah, he's a badass. I mean, you put him with Will Anderson and their DBSs and Domingo dialing up the defense. It's good defense. I know you're not the biggest soccer fan in the world. But with tickets going on sale this past week,

I wanted to ask if you're looking forward to the tournament, given that it's across North America, and if there's any players' teams, you'd want to get tickets to see in the Bay, where it's so five. No, I think I'm going to be a watch the World Cup on TV guy. You know, it's cool. It's coming here.

It's going to be badass. It can be a massive event. But I think your boy is just going to enjoy it on television. Here's what I know. I am not. And I repeat, I am not going to get excited for our team. I do not plan on us advancing. I plan on everyone complaining after we lose a game that we should have won

and then be winning a game that we shouldn't win and end up tying it or losing it. Like, my expectations for our team, we do this every four years. I'm just not buying into it. I'll never forget. I've told this story before. The World Cup that would have been 2010, I think was in Brazil,

and the American team stopped off to play like a friendly at the link. And I was downstairs working out, and they came to practice at our practice facility. And I was actually outside, like, running some gasserers or something, back in my skinny days. And I just remember the team doing a warm-up, basically around our fields.

and that they were like right next to me. And the only guy I remember thinking like, Tim Howard looked apart, the goalie. But the rest of the players, it's like, we're so small. And that was, you know, Landon, Donovan, Dempsey, some of those guys. But I just remember whenever we watch some of these other teams, and I understand size does it better and so on,

I get it, messy small. But it does feel like some of these teams have more blue chippers, just athletic body types than us. And clearly we're just not as good. But I'm done. I'm done even. pretending to get excited. I'll root for when we're playing, but my

expectations for Team USA are are zilch. They do not exist. Everyone always complains like, this was no, this was not going to be the year. We don't care about soccer enough here. We care about football. We care about a lot of sports. Soccer on the importance of our country, if it was

more important, we'd be better. Period. Point blank, end of story. Not sure why these teams keep trying to pooch kick the kickoffs late in the fourth quarter. I think the risk reward really flops, flips, late games. I've watched Seattle basically win a game because of a bad pooch kick, which set them up for a field goal with not much time left. I watched the Niners last night, the Rams kicker pooch kicked the ball in overtime and it didn't make it to the landing zone.

Meaning you started the 40. Poor special teams coaching late in the fourth quarter. Why not just keep kicking it deep in those situations? Because if you kick it deep and you fly the landing zone into the end zone, they will start at the 35. So you're kind of getting greedy. You're hoping if you pooch kick it correctly, that you will tackle them somewhere between the 20 and 25. And 10 yards late in a game, especially if they don't have timeouts, is a huge difference.

But you could argue the risk-first reward if you fuck up like Butker did, like the Rams did, and I give you the ball at the 40, that is a massive, massive penalty for a screw-up. it's like a poorly thrown ball getting you 50 yards of pass interference. It's pretty devastating. But I think it's hard for a coach to go, yeah, just kick it through the end zone. Start at the 35. So I think everyone's still feeling this out.

I don't think there's a right or wrong way to do it. Because if your pooch kick works, you feel pretty good about it. A few weeks ago, I listened to your Sunday night podcast with Coward. The whole time you spoke with a very strong. Lisp. I listen to your podcast almost daily. I've never heard you speak like this. Was it a glitch in the Matrix? Did you lose a bet with Colin or what's to explain it? We have a video and audio team at the volume and the audio that I'm currently recording gets sent off to my guy Adam. He is an audio wizard and no different with Colin. So the raw audio

that I send them that I'm recording on a garage band from my my computer gets put through programs to make like the echo in my room and just any sort of sounds kind of dissipate so when you listen ideally it's really high quality now I got high quality equipment and you know sound modifiers in front of me but this is not a studio now I'm building a studio right now for my backyard but even then like this is not going to be like like Taylor Swift were recording an album in a legitimate music studio or radio studio, right? So we have a bunch of programs that deal with everything from video to audio and a button got pressed. I got so many DM saying, John, did you drink pretty heavily? John, did you have a tooth removed? What is

wrong with you? And after like seven of those, I went and listened. I'm like, what are these people talking about? And something like, I think in the program the way it was explained to me, is one of the attributes of the audio program is so like hard S's. And listen, I screw up words all the time. I try to say, I think, extravaganza the other night, and that word did not come out of my mouth. So there are going to be things that you can't fix.

But there are, you know, things to just make the audio quality better. But I think a button was pressed. and it did something with anything that involved an S and made it sound insane. But it was funny. I mean, it will ultimate. But I was not drunk. I didn't develop a list overnight,

but it's programs. The amount of stuff that goes on behind the scenes with all this stuff is pretty crazy. Honestly, I didn't even really, I think, grasp that until that moment happened. And then I had it explained to me. Oh, that's cool. Hey, it's us, the Jonas Brothers.

what, we have some big news. What's the news? Huge news. We created our own podcast called Hey Jonas. We invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to a... We're the first people to do podcasts.

Pretty, yeah, pretty wide range of podcasts throughout there. But this one's extra special. So how did we actually come up with a name, Hey Jonas, guys? I honestly don't remember. I think it was on a call about what we should call it. And... Oh, we were thinking I'm originally calling it one of the early names. of our band before Jonas Brothers

was... This is how you guys remember it going down? Yes. I have a very different memory of this. We were talking about a thing, a bit for the podcast, where people could call in and say, Hey, Jonas.

And then I wrote down on my little notepad, Hey Jonas, and offered it up as a potential title for the podcast. But thanks for remembering that, guys. Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,

or wherever you get your podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. Another podcast from some SNL, late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and Friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier.

This week, my guest, S&L's Mikey Day and head writer, Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Last night, a blown call changed a game.

This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves. Their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real.

From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context and ask the questions everybody wants answered. SportsSlice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to Sports Slice on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Sliced Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations

with so many incredible guests. I'm talking. Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it, and we don't know when we've done enough.

Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, Because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth? Are you a good person because you're free? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust.

I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, is we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, learn the hard way. Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. What is your opinion of Justin Fields? Does he have the potential

like a Baker or a Daniel Jones to where he could manage a team and bring them to a championship with the right pieces around him? I'm a Michigan State fan so I have no loyalty to him but I feel like people aren't seeing the improvements he has made with bad franchises

and defensive coaches. Also, F the Bengals for screwing over Burrow and Jake Browning by trading for Flacco. I would not I would say, listen, if Daniel Jones can play this well, then yeah, maybe Fields, but I would not compare Baker Mayfield to Justin Fields. He's a dramatically better natural passer of the ball, natural feel for the pocket. He's a dramatically better player.

But when you see someone like Daniel Jones resurrect his career, you would say, you know, Fields, to me, has been really impressive off the field with the bear situation, with obviously the Steeler situation. The Jets are a joke, so, like, my expectations for his play aren't great. Though, like, I would say Justin Fields has not been a very good NFL quarterback most of his career. He's an excellent runner. But when it comes to passing the ball, he struggles. He has a big arm. And listen, I was wrong. I loved him coming out.

I thought you could make the argument that he was a better prospect or more intriguing prospect than Trevor Lawrence. And I had buddies in the league. they were like, you're on crack cocaine. I'm like, no, I just like this guy. I think his attributes are better. And I'm not the biggest Trevor Lawrence guy, but he's a more natural player. And I wouldn't even call Trevor Lawrence the most, like, instinctive natural player relative to his talent.

But Fields, there's just like a lack of rhythm and feel to the game. And at quarterback, when you lack the feel and rhythm to passing, it's hard to play. I mean, the stat that went viral of Justin Fields is like, I think he's like 0.25 when someone scores, let me just bring this up. Justin Fields is 0 and 26 as a starter when the opponent scores 21 points. That's an insane stat. It'd be one thing if it's like he's 0 in 26 when they score 40 points. Like yeah, he's playing on terrible team.

21 points. So it's a nice way of saying as a starting quarterback, I'm out. Now, Daniel Jones, like, they got him for $14 million. Would I pay Justin Fields one year $10 million? Sure. They gave him two years, $40 million, $30 million guaranteed. I was like, that felt like a little pricey relative to way he played.

I would have said the Colts would have been insane if they would have given Daniel Jones that contrary. Or what's it going to take for the Eagles to pull the trigger and fire Petula to prevent another BJ situation. I said BJ is Brian Johnson. You think Nick still believes in his buddy? My fear is the offensive talent in the roster will delay an inevitable firing.

I do think sometimes Thursday night games, whether you're an elite team or a bad team, can just be weird, especially as the season goes on. You're tired, quick turnaround, coaches can't sleep. It's just the games could be really wacky. So, like, if the Eagles,

in a perfect world have the number one offense in the league right now. It wouldn't shock me at all if they played this giant's team and won like 15 to 10. Thursday night, you're tired, road game,

very believable. But if I tell you right now they win this game 15 to 10 on prime time with everyone watching, it's only going to get louder. And I don't know the guy personally, but it's a tough place to be

with the expectations with the amount of talent on the offense. I mean, it's immense. With a quarterback who can be just a little fickle. I mean, he can, he's one of the more bizarre players in the league history. He really is. Because he, I don't know, I just don't ever remember a guy quite like Jalen Hertz. Where it's like, you just ask a random guy, you're like, is he a really good player?

It was like, he's done some really good things. He has a lot of talent. But like, you can watch him on games for like, this guy's terrible. terrible. But is it like the coordinator? I don't know. I've seen him with good coordinators. I've bad games too. But then he's had great games in the Super Bowl. So I don't know. I don't know.

One thing I think he hesitates to do. He did a little more last year because remember two years ago he didn't do it and he was kind of banged up. He should run more. He's way more accomplished than Bo Nix. But Tony Romo was talking about this in the Bronco game.

I guess they were playing the Eagles. So if you're an Eagle fan, you were watching the game too. is like, boat, just take off every once in a while. It's like getting in the free throw line as a basketball player. It's like, I'm 0 for nine from deep. Well, yeah, get an easy basket. Get to the hole, get fouled, see a couple, hit the net. This isn't that fucking complicated.

It's like, Jalen, just take off. Bo, just take off. If you're struggling a little bit, just gain 10 yards. Mahomes and Josh Allen do it all the time. And they're not even trying to get a rhythm. They're just trying to gain yours. But it's like, go. Utilize your feet more.

Browns fan here sadly What do you think should be done about Stefansky? I like him and think we should keep until we get a quarterback one because it's hard to be consistent when there's no consistency at the most important position in the league quarterback. I don't know, man. I think

the Browns have found themselves in this ugly, unenviable position. They made a move with Baker Mayfield and it's one of the all-time failures. This guy, if Baker Mayfield wins the MVP and you are shuffling through Flacco, Shador Sanders, and Dylan Gabriel as your team wins three or four games. And you're just an embarrassment while you pay a guy, $50, $60 million to rehab who you are

going to cut the moment you don't owe them as much money anymore. It's tough to shake. And I think it's easy. You know, people like media people that don't like what we do will always be like, oh, you're just so hyperbolic, just talking head, just saying this. Like, I understand why they moved on from Baker Mayfield. That doesn't change the fact that four or five years later were in a position where he might win the MVP of the league. And if you're the Browns, you drafted him number one overall. And yeah, was he a little immature?

Sure. They traded for a guy that could not stay out of the massage therapist giving him handies. I mean, it's an all-time story. We've never seen anything like it. It's like, quarterback, good-looking guy should get laid with ease. It's like, no, this guy was just addicted to go into massages. And then he's terrible. He's kind of a weird dude.

And clearly, people aren't that into him. And then he sucks at football. I mean, it's an all-time disaster. It really is. And I have a hard time putting that on Stafansky. But the simple reality is you fire coaches before you fire players. And if they could have fired Deshawn Jackson or Deshawn Watson, they would have fired him a year ago.

They'd fire him right now. They can't. So can these guys survive just losing week after week? I would say based on their owner's history, I still can't believe when you think about the Watson situation. Now, they thought he was a star, so they went, who cares about the massage situation? But then they get him and he's not a star,

and that thing just would not go away. Like, pretty embarrassing. I mean, it's really kind of a low-level thing. And I'm not moral high horse to act like, you know, a lot of people listening. been to their massage therapist over the years, right? But relative to, in his situation, now, I see some of these pictures now, like with his new fiance,

it's just, it's just weird. It's kind of just, ugh. This guy's just toxic. I mean, the Browns can't wait to get rid of Sean Watson. And no team will ever sign him ever again. Think about that. Henry Ruggs, who got wasted at Top Golf and killed the chicken or dog,

we'll get another chance. He will. When he gets out of prison, he will get a workout. Wouldn't shock me at all if he's at OTAs or training camp. Deshawn Watson will never play for another NFL team whenever he is cut within the next 24 months, ever. And I don't say that lightly.

I don't just say teams do not care. But he is, to me, he's untouchable. Terrible and a whack job? Is there any worse combination? Like, ideally, do you know what you want? Good player, great guy. Mohms? You know, that's high character guy.

Teammates love him. Never gets in trouble. Good player. That's what you're working. The least desirable is like, you know, he sucks, whack job. Got about 17 lawsuits coming after him. You're like, yeah, don't really want to get in business with that.

But that, to me, is on Jimmy Haslam, not on the GM in the office. owner. With how obviously important the NFL front offices to team success, can you expand on these roles? The GM is a critical piece. Is the GM exclusively responsible for the salary cap? Or is there a finance guy that helps run the cap? Also, can you expand on what the pay for front offices? What is the GM pay? How much would the second, third guys in line make? I think it depends, right? Like, Howie Roseman is intimately involved in the salary cap? Now they pay people

You know Jake Rosenberg Who was there forever and now You know whoever filled his spot Who worked the day to day Cap numbers and contract negotiations But how he has intimate knowledge of how that works And then You know a guy like Jason Light

Who has said like I depend Like I understand the basics of it But I'm not the nitty gritty of the contract Right like John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan depend on Parag and his team to run point on the contracts. Right. Now, they determine value

and how much you want a guy and stuff, but most of these teams now with how much money's on the line, it is ran by a financial, an individual with a financial background. I think the GM would vary team to team. You know, I think the highest paid GMs in the league would be like,

Howie Roseman, John Schneider, I mean, this would be an educated guess. I'd say $8 to $10 million. John Lynch makes a ton. I think John Lynch makes like $10 million. I would imagine less Sneed makes a lot. And then the low-paid GMs, you know, probably make a couple million dollars. You know, a guy like Brett Veach, when he first got the job,

was probably making a million. And then you start winning Super Bowls, you start kicking ass and taking names. That thing, five, six, seven Xs. So I think the pay varies from anything. from like two million, like Dan Morgan with Carolina, probably one of the lower paid guys, which again, relative to society, making $2, $3 million.

And you have guys making $10, $10 plus. I think the number two would probably vary on experience, would run you. I mean, I've had different people tell me anywhere from like $800 grand to a million dollars as like the true number two GM. But it also varies like, where do you live? because paying you a million dollars to be the 49ers number two

is essentially the same of being probably paid 600 grand to be the chief's number two. So if you can get, and this is the argument that I've had buddies tell me that their owner will be like, well, we're in, you know, this city is way less expensive than you're comparing this to the guy in L.A. Or the guy in New York. So I think you battle some of those. So that depends I think the number two is typically

Under a million dollars But high six figures Seven, eight, nine hundred grand And then once you start going below that It's simply based on Experience How much, you know, some franchises are cheaper than others But you could find college directors making

500 grand You could probably find some that make $275,000 But I mean these are obviously good jobs. The other thing about a college director is some of these guys don't live in their area. So, like, I could be the college director for the 49ers, but potentially live in, like, Dallas, Texas, right?

Or for the Philadelphia Eagle and live somewhere else. Now, it doesn't mean I'm going to the facility, going to games a lot, but my home base can be somewhere different. And then, you know, scouts on the road probably, you know, I started like 50 grand, and that was 15 years ago, a little less, probably 12. But you could find anyone making 60, 70 grand, and you can find guys making 200 grand. So it probably varies that way.

So obviously GMs make less than coaches, the high-end guys. Like, you know, the high-end coaches are making 15 to 20 million. The GMs are making, you know, the good ones and accomplished Super Bowl ones are making 7 to 10. So, I mean, there's a lot of money getting thrown around. That's why I always say, Wall Street on grass. but I think the college director would say our wide receiver coaches making $750,000.

Coaches make way more than scouts. The coordinators are all making millions. But you have these position coaches, you know, like a running back coach, if he's been in the league 20 years, might be making $775,000. Right? A linebacker coach who's got 15-year experience

might be making $650,000. The position coaches in the NFL and college and the SEC, the Big Ten, are making a ton. I mean, huge money. And obviously the coordinators, you know, the Fangios, the Chip Kellys, the Robert Salas. These guys are making $4 to $6 million a year. It's a good time to be in the NFL, right? But it's also why there can be some bitterness.

Some of these like road scouts get angry because they go like, I'm making $150K. I am on the road 80% of the year. I scout, you know, guys we're going to draft in the 5% of the 5%. first, second round, and I'm making nothing relative to my profession what other guys in my building are making. So there can be some bitterness and resentment there for sure. The volume. Hey, guys, it's us.

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